Editorials

EDITORIAL: Stop making a mockery of austerity measures

ROTICH

Treasury secretary Henry Rotich. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Judging by the behaviour of senior public officials, one cannot get the slightest idea that the country is in an austerity mode.

This is despite the fact that Treasury secretary Henry Rotich has announced a raft of measures he believes will help the government plug the huge budget hole arising from revenue shortfalls and mounting debt servicing burden.

Mr Rotich had said that the proposed cuts to government spending would be across the board , starting with travel, motor vehicle maintenance, training and hospitality.

But a proper scrutiny of the budget shows that key institutions such as the Judiciary and Parliamentary Service Commission—which ought to lead by example—are not about to rein in profligate spending.

The resolution for budget adjustments is noble because of the amendments to tax measures that parliamentarians passed last week amid mounting financing obligations such as debt servicing, which will take more than half the taxes at Sh870 billion. It must understood that spending such a large portion of public resources on debt servicing leaves a big shortfall in the financing of other government obligations, hence the cuts in spending.

But the judges and MPs actions only suggest a total lack of support for the austerity measures.

Judges are set to receive Sh9 million fuel guzzlers, defying President Uhuru Kenyatta’s order to cut on motoring expenses amid an austerity drive. At Sh9 million each, the Judiciary is looking to buy fuel guzzlers like Land Cruiser V8, BMW, Range Rover Evoque and Mercedes Benz E220, adding further burden to taxpayers in the forms of petrol and spare parts.

The purchase of the high-end cars also goes against an earlier government policy to lease vehicles instead of purchasing them. Parliament has on the other hand defeated a Treasury proposal to cut out the Sh600, 000 that had been allocated to each lawmaker for furnishing their private offices.

The PSC — the MPs’ employer — reckons there is need to buy office furniture, supplies, personal computers, printers and other IT equipment.

This is unacceptable when the lawmakers have made big cuts on projects that uplift the lives of the ordinary Kenyans like the cooking gas subsidy, power transmission projects, and repair of damaged roads. We must emphasise that austerity will only succeed with the support of the leadership which addresses the demand side. Not from taxing ordinary people more to finance lavish purchases.